Above and Beyond
by Animecherryblossem33
Summary: Shingeki no Kyojin - Spy AU. That says it all. See the characters of SNK in an alternate universe full of adventure and espionage and even a little romance.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey guys! New story, woot! It's been a while since I decided to write a multi-chap story so I hope that you all enjoy this! With all the SNK crossovers I was inspired by a really cool drawing of a secret agent-like AU and that's how, 'Above and Beyond,' came to be. Hope you all like it! Oh and no set pairings as of yet, still deliberating.

Disclaimer – I do not own SNK if I did a lot less people would die…

**Chapter 1**

"Have the charges been set?"

"Roger. Safe to detonate at the designated time."

"Good, you have five minutes to leave the premise. Don't do anything reckless and just get yourself out of there quickly Eren." Although Armin tried to keep his tone professional, the wavering of his voice gave away his true feelings of unease.

"Don't worry so much Armin, this isn't that first time we've done this, besides, Mikasa has already gotten rid of most of the guards outside plus the guards by the door, I just have to sneak past the few left inside." The brunet replied, trying to be as reassuring as possible. He knew his friend tended to be excessively precautious. It was best to try and calm Armin's nerves, especially on a mission.

It was silent for a moment as Eren carefully crawled out of the air vent. Making sure to keep both quiet and vigilant, he cautiously maneuvered around the corner and down the maze-like corridor. He took Armin's silence as a good sign, seeing as he was no longer badgering him to be careful. Armin was smart, he knew better than to distract Eren as he was undergoing one of the most crucial parts of the mission, he had to get out and he had to do it fast. However, leaving a heavily guarded enemy facility without being detected was no easy feat. Eren needed to focus.

After two minutes of stealthily making his way past the remaining guards inside, he was one hall away from his destination. His lithe body seemed to ghost past the camera's and guards, undetected until…

"Eren?" Mikasa's voice came over the receiver at precisely the wrong time.

With the momentary distraction, Eren was unable to side step the range of the camera and the alarm went off. Almost instantly, all the guards in the hall converged on the spot where the brunet been spotted.

"Shit." Eren all but growled out.

No longer worried about being seen, he made a bee-line for the exit sprinting in order to make it there before more guards crowed the hall.

"What's wrong Eren? Are you alright?" Mikasa's voice was now far from its usually aloof tone.

"I'm fine, just be ready to run when I get outside." Eren spoke, his breaths becoming labored as he tried to outrun his pursuers.

"You've been seen?" She asked, almost in a panic.

Shouting could be heard in the background, "He just entered the main hall, cut him off before he gets to the door!"

Eren turned his head to see half of the pursuing guards take a different route from his own. He cursed once again under his breath. "Don't worry, I'm almost out."

"But Eren-" Whatever Mikasa said after that was lost to Eren as three guards reached the exit before he did, one already aiming his gun in Eren's direction. As he stopped to turn around he saw that there were five guards on their way to help the others surround him at the main entrance. A confrontation was now inevitable.

"Don't move or I'll shoot." The impatient guard yelled in a shaky voice, already aiming for Eren's head.

"Tsk." Eren scoffed, he really didn't have time for this.

His turquoise eyes glistened dangerously in the light, and in a split second he was on the guards' right side grabbing his forearm and disarming him with a hit to the hand. He then elbowed the burly man in the stomach, knocking the guard out with the swift blow. As the other two finally recovered from the shock of the young man's speed and pulled out their own weapons, Eren spun to his right, using his momentum to rapidly kick both guns out of the hands of the guards. He punched the first one square in the jaw, sending him hurtling to the ground as he easily crouched to dodge a kick from his other opponent. From his low position on the ground, he rotated his body with his leg extended, tripping the man above him and then quickly knocking him unconscious with a jab to the face. He looked up to see the remaining five guards drawing their guns. As quickly as possible he stood and dashed to the door that was now only a few feet away.

"Stop!" One guard yelled, running to catch Eren and firing his gun in the process. It just barely missed, skimming the side of Eren's left arm.

As the others began to fire on Eren as well, he reached the door and yanked it open nearly tearing it off its hinges. He managed to run out quickly only sustaining one more bullet wound to his right leg.

"Eren!" He heard Mikasa yell over the gun-fire. He turned and ran in the direction of her voice, avoiding the onslaught of bullets left in his wake, making it down the stairs and into their getaway vehicle without further injury.

"Go! We have less than a minute to get out of range." Eren yelled frantically as his jumped into the car.

"Don't you think I know that?" Mikasa replied seriously. In the next instant she revved the engine and slammed her foot on the accelerator, forcing Eren's frame to sink into the fabric of the seat he was in. Not even half a minute later the charges placed strategically around the facility went off all at once. The two young agents had made it out of the blast zone just in time, the car only swerving slightly from the receding impact of the explosion.

"And we made it." Eren mumbled, both relieved and satisfied. Another mission had gone smoothly.

"Are you two alright?" Armin's voice came over the communicator in the car.

"Yeah, we're both in one piece and on our way to the rendezvous point." Eren replied still slightly out of breath from his recent exertion.

"Thank goodness. I'll meet you there in three minutes." The relief that was heard in Armin's voice was almost palpable. No matter how many missions they went on, Armin's reaction at the end of every one would be exactly the same.

"See you." With those parting words from Eren, Armin temporarily shut off communication.

As Eren was about to lean back into his chair and relax, Mikasa's voice broke the silence in the car.

"How did they spot you?" As usual, she was blunt.

"I didn't notice one of their camera's in time." Eren replied, still upset about the incident.

"Did I distract you?" Mikasa was very perceptive and her no-nonsense tone unnerved Eren.

Eren was silent for a moment before he finally replied with a curt, "no."

"Liar. Are you hurt?" Her voice was laced with both concern and disappointment as she glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

"Not really, a couple of their shots just grazed me. They're really shallow it should heal in a day or two." His voice was steady as he spoke. He wanted her to know that he was really alright and that she had nothing to worry about.

Still, Mikasa frowned slightly. She felt guilty knowing that she had almost cost Eren his life. He was, after all, the most important person in her life, the only family she had left. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she were the cause of his death.

"I'm really fine Mikasa. You can't feel guilty over every little thing. I might have made a mistake anyway. What matters is that I'm still here and as long as we are living, we have to keep fighting and moving forward. There is no use getting stuck in the past Mikasa, you know that." He was stern this time, his fierce eyes staring straight at Mikasa, ordering her to let it go and move on.

As always, Mikasa was set straight by that intense green gaze.

"I know. I'm sorry."

As their conversation came to an end, they arrived at their rendezvous location. Mikasa parked the black Honda in the garage of the plain building and covered it with a matching black tarp after they had both stepped outside the vehicle. She and Eren made their way to the basement where Armin was most likely already waiting for them. After a short elevator ride they arrived at the basement and were promptly greeted by their blond-haired friend.

He welcomed them with a warm smile, but it faded as soon as he saw Eren's injured arm and bloodied leg.

"I told you not to be reckless." Armin nagged Eren sternly.

"Calm down, it's just a scratch. They'll heal soon and it doesn't even hurt." He tried to convince his friend, but he could tell it wasn't working.

Armin scrutinized the wounds before deciding for himself the level of their severity. The blue-eyed boy sighed after a moment and turned his gaze back to his friend.

"It doesn't look serious but you should still go to the infirmary to get it disinfected, Mikasa and I can get started on the report without you."

"But-" Eren tried to retort but was cut off by the girl beside him.

Mikasa placed a hand on Eren's shoulder to silence his complaints before she spoke. "Armin is right Eren. Go and get it cleaned and then come back, it shouldn't take you long and it would make both of us feel better." She squeezed his shoulder lightly but still firmly, urging him to give in and go.

Eren met her eyes evenly and sighed in defeat, no matter how much time passed Mikasa would still act like his mother.

"I'll be back soon, don't finish the report without me." Eren replied, making his way back to the elevator.

"Will do." Was Armin's cheerful reply as he bid Eren farewell with a triumphant grin.

Eren glanced back at his friends with a rather displeased look on his face before boarding the elevator to the third floor.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

After reaching the third floor Eren was greeted with the familiar sight of endless white walls. He never did like hospitals and the small infirmary they had in the building looked and smelled exactly like one. He had on a look of discomfort as he made his way to the front desk. After checking in with the receptionist, he was escorted into an exam room by one of the nurses. She asked him to remove his black shirt and roll up his right pant leg. As soon as he did so, she went to work on assessing the extent of the damage of both wounds. The nurse delicately touched the skin around the wound on his arm after she had put on her latex gloves, but Eren did not pull away from the touch even as she repeated the process with the wound on his leg. As he had previously stated, the wounds were shallow and did not require stitches only a thin layer of bandaging to help it heal. After thoroughly examining both wounds the nurse, who had come to the same conclusion as Eren, stated that she would return shortly with some bandages and other supplies to dress the wounds.

As Eren sat there, obediently waiting for the nurse to return, the voices in the room next to his, caught his attention.

"Corporal please stay still, I know you're anxious but I can't stitch you up properly if you keep moving."

"I told you I didn't need stitching in the first place Hanji, I don't have time to just sit still and do nothing. My team is in chaos right now, if you insist on the stitches hurry the fuck up."

'_Corporal? As in THE Corporal Rivaille?'_

Although the pair in the other room–that was merely separated by a thin white curtain–seemed to be arguing over something important, Eren was dazed by the thought of being able to finally meet the legendary, greatest operative of the organization.

However, when his mind finally came back to reality he realized that this amazing agent had been injured and something grave must have taken place for his team to be in such disorder, that even the Corporal was worried. Now the hot-headed brunet was wondering what on earth could have happened.

"The remainder of your team is in the main wing of the infirmary getting treated themselves. You can afford to sit down for a few minutes and allow yourself to be treated as well, Levi. Irvin is capable of handling things on his own for a while. Besides you've been going at it none stop since you returned from the mission. Lie down, get some rest and let me work or so help me I'll sedate you and force you to help me with my experiments." The woman's voice had an eerily cheerful tone to it, even as her words were meant to be taken seriously.

It was silent on the other side for a moment and then a low growl could be heard from the male in the other room. "Just hurry up Hanji, I still have to fulfill my duties whether I am tired or not." The reply was somewhat soft and resigned, but the man's words were still unyielding.

"You got it Corporal! Just hold on a sec while I get more stitches since you made me lose so many when you were moving around." Eren failed to realize that the woman's cheerful voice was getting closer, which meant that she was about to open the curtain and he would be caught eavesdropping.

When she emerged from the other room Eren was still looking in the direction of the pale curtain and the woman's eyes met his for a split second before he averted his gaze.

She paused for a moment as her grin dropped at the sight of Eren in the neighboring room, but just as fast as it had faded, her grin returned and this time it was more devious. "It seems you aren't very stealthy for an operative, must not do too much recon, huh?"

Eren turned his eyes back to the tall brunet woman in front of him, this time his face showed irritation rather than surprise. "I beg your pardon?"

Before the spectacled woman could answer, an annoyed voice was heard from the room she was currently exiting. "Who the hell is stalling you Hanji? Hurry up and get those dammed stitches so I can leave."

"Oh, sorry Corporal I was just teasing a cute little puppy is all." The woman, Hanji, replied as she turned her grin in the direction of the aggravated male.

Footsteps were heard approaching the curtain that divided the two rooms, at the end of her statement. "A puppy? What the hell are you talking about?" As the voice drew near, Eren became exceedingly nervous, was he going to be punished for eavesdropping?

A moment later the rest of the curtain was pulled back, revealing the figure of the man Eren had been anxious to both meet and avoid at that very moment.

Lance Corporal Rivaille was not exactly the picture perfect agent. He was shorter than most and always looked like he was bored or irritated. Although his frame was small, he had a sturdy build and most could testify to his immense strength. Eren didn't quite know how to react in his presence, so he tried his best not to stare at the shirtless man before him. His chest was littered with light pink scars and there was a deep gash on the left side of his abdomen only half stitched and still bleeding.

"It's not polite to stare, brat." Eren was snapped out of his daze as his attempt to not stare had obviously failed.

Eren stuttered as he scrambled to his feet, saluting in respect.

"Forgive me for my rudeness Corporal, I did not mean to pry into your business." He looked directly into the harsh gray eyes of the shorter man as he spoke, trying desperately to not make it seem as if he were looking down on the Corporal.

Eren stood his ground as Levi approached him, never daring to break eye contact.

When the Corporal was only a few inches away from Eren, he stopped his advance and stared up at the youth.

Levi looked Eren up and down, "Have you not been around long enough for someone to teach you manners, brat?" He asked the younger man, once again locking their eyes.

"I-" Before Eren could even get the first syllables of his sentence out, Levi proceeded to punch him in the face.

"Aw, Levi he's just a puppy, don't be too harsh on him." Hanji said, still smiling from ear to ear as she pestered the Corporal.

Levi scoffed and began to walk out into the hall. "He should know better than to eavesdrop on a commanding officer."

As Levi began to leave, the nurse that was attending to Eren made her way back into the room, surprised to see Hanji and the Corporal in the room with Eren.

"Levi, where are you going?" Hanji asked him.

"Hurry up Hanji, I want these stitches finished before two." Before he walked out into the hallway, he paused briefly at the door and turned to Eren's nurse. "I apologize for further injuring your patient, some ice should leave him good as new so don't worry too much."

"A-alright, I'll take care if it Corporal." The nurse stammered out as she watched the two odd agents walk into the hall and out of her sights as Hanji bellowed a, "See you later puppy," before the pair was completely out of earshot.

Eren was still in a state of shock over the whole ordeal. He really didn't know what to make of his first encounter with the Lance Corporal and was overall confused. He finally snapped out of it when the nurse worriedly asked him if he was alright.

"I'm fine, sorry to worry you." As Eren held his stinging cheek and let the nurse dress his wounds, the only thing on his mind was the man that had given him the new injury.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

A/N: It's finally out in the world and I hope you guys enjoy it! X3 R&R and let me know what you guys think, yeah? More coming soon, and again, no set pairings yet even though I'm hinting. =3


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you are all enjoying this story and I hope that you all continue to read! Thank you to everyone who faved and followed the story and a shout out to my one reviewer, isthisparadise! =D

Warning: Possibly boring chapter! Lots of explanation!

Enjoy!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Chapter 2

Eren walked back to the elevator after the nurse had finished dressing his wounds. The whole ride back Eren was in a daze. He didn't know what to think and the sting from the ice-bag on his bruised cheek didn't help him sort through his thoughts. What had he done to deserve almost having his teeth knocked out? He hadn't the faintest clue.

When he returned to where Armin and Mikasa were, ice bag in hand and arm and leg bandaged, the first thing the duo asked was how he had received the bruise on his cheek.

"I was listening in on a conversation the Lance Corporal was having with a doctor and when they found me out I got socked in the face as punishment." Eren explained, not showing any real signs of anger on his face, only confusion.

Mikasa on the other hand appeared to be enraged enough for the both of them. "He doesn't have the right to do that. Even if you weren't intentionally listening-in, those paper thin curtains do nothing to block sound between the rooms."

"Don't think about doing anything Mikasa, he's a commanding officer, we have no power over him, besides Eren really shouldn't have been eavesdropping even if it was easy to hear them." Armin gently placed his hand on Mikasa's shoulder, looking worried over what the girl had in mind as well as the fact that Eren might have gotten into trouble.

Knowing what his friends might have been thinking Eren broke into the conversation, "I don't think the Corporal will make anything of the incident, he already hit me and I think that's all the damaged he plans to do. It was my fault so let it go Mikasa." As he spoke to them in a firm and reassuring voice, both of his friends seemed to relax, although Mikasa was pouting slightly.

"So, how much is left of the report?" Eren asked, hoping to further relieve the tension by changing the subject.

"Well, Mikasa and I already finished the bulk of it, all you have to do is write in the interactions you had with the people inside the facility and anything you might have found while you were in there." Armin informed handing him the almost finished report.

"Understood, I should be done in less than half an hour, when are we scheduled to meet with the superiors?" Eren asked as he received the paperwork from Armin.

Looking down to check his watch Armin confirmed that the meeting would be held in exactly thirty minutes.

"You should get to work then Eren, would you like any help?" Mikasa asked as she followed Eren to the small desk that belonged to her adoptive brother.

"No, I'll be fine Mikasa, don't worry we'll make it to the meeting on time." And with that Eren dismissed Mikasa's overprotective tendencies and began to add to the report.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Exactly half an hour later the three-man squad stood in front of the division heads office.

Armin was the first to move up to the door and knock.

"Yes?" A deep voice was heard from the other side of the large cedar door.

"104th squad, Armin Arlet, Mikasa Ackerman, and Eren Jaeger reporting in sir, permission to enter?" Armin responded in a very serious voice.

"Granted." The gruff reply that came from within the office was followed by the sound of squeaking hinges as one of the cedar doors was opened.

The three young agents stepped inside and halted upon entry, bringing their right fist over their chest in salute. After their greeting to their superior, Armin approached the old man's desk and held out the completed report.

Commander Pixis took the file from Armin and the young blond returned to stand beside his two friends once again.

"Thank you agent Arlet, it seems the mission was a success." The eccentric older man said as he opened the folder containing their repot.

"Yes, sir. The destruction of the enemy facility was a success as well as the information retrieval. The files we confiscated are on a disk in the back of the report folder." Armin answered evenly, keeping his voice very professional.

"Good to hear. Well, everything seems to be in order and nothing suspicious was found so you are dismissed, thank you for your continued work." The commander smiled as he dismissed them, closing the folder he was skimming through.

With another salute the three began to walk out of the room.

"Oh, that reminds me. Jaeger." Pixis called out before the trio reached the door frame.

The brunet stopped his advance and turned to his commanding officer, resuming the upright stance he was in before, "Yes, sir?"

"Would you stay for a while? There is something I need to discuss with you." The commander asked. However, his tone did not match his cheerful expression, making the question sound more like an order.

"Of course, sir." Eren replied respectfully adhering to his commander's subtle order, walking towards Pixis now rather than away from him.

"Great, you two are dismissed I'll return Jaeger to you shortly." Pixis told Mikasa and Armin as he smiled in their direction.

Although they were both uneasy, they exited the office without any complaint only glancing back once as they closed the wooden door.

"Sit Jaeger, I don't want you standing through this it might take a while." Pixis gestured to the chair in front of his large desk, his strange smile still plastered on his face.

With a sharp nod, Eren pulled out the chair and sat in it, directing his attention back to the commander.

"Now, Eren Jaeger, you've been training to be an operative since you, Mikasa and Armin were brought here after your parent's death, correct?" Pixis asked, reading a file that was on his desk.

"Yes, sir." Eren confirmed, wondering where this was going.

"You harbor great hatred for the Titan organization that your father, Grisha Jaeger, used to work for. Since your father was a leading researcher at Titan when he refused to do any further work for them they eliminated him and went to your home to see if he had left any evidence of their experiments behind. In the process your mother, Clara Jaeger became an unfortunate casualty because she was trying to protect you and Mikasa from the intruders. Luckily, your little friend Armin noticed the Titan agents enter your home and called the rose division for help. One of our agents, Hannes, made it to your home just in time and rescued you and Mikasa. Shortly after you Mikasa and Armin were all transferred to a more secure part of the city with other survivors because, after your father's demise, the Titan spores somehow spread into Shignshina and almost the entire Maria district was infected. You all became agents in training the year after the incident and have had one successful mission after the other since your graduation. Your team is one of the best trios this organization has seen in a long time, and although I would like for you to continue with these intermediate level missions and information gathering, I will have to break up your team for a short amount of time." After he had finished his explanation Pixis sighed, no longer wearing a smile. His features were now set in a serious expression as he looked up from his file and at Eren.

It took a minute for Eren to find his voice after Pixis broke the news to him. He was both confused and in a slight panic. How could he protect the people most precious to him if they were no longer going to be by his side? "I'm sorry sir but I don't understand. If you are happy with our current performance why would you break up my team?"

"Because I need you to assist the special operations team on their next mission. There team suffered severe losses in their last encounter with Titan and the entire Survey Corps has been hit pretty hard." Pixis explained with a melancholic look in his eyes. For the Survey Corps to suffer major casualties on a single mission, something exceptionally terrible must have happened, something far beyond Eren's imagination.

"But why me, sir? Not that I am unhappy with your faith in me, but aren't there more experienced operatives?" Eren asked.

Pixis eyed the boy for a moment before he answered. "Eren you sustained a few injuries in the field today, correct?"

Confused once again by the man's words Eren could only reply with an unsure, "Yes, sir." Wondering how this had anything to do with his question.

"May I see them?" The commander asked.

Puzzled yet again by the request Eren did not answer and simply started to un-wrap the bandages around his left arm. Where there had been an open flesh wound just hours ago, there was now a fully scabbed-over cut that seemed a week old rather than a few hours old and was much smaller than the original wound.

The strange grin returned to Pixis's face. "I'm sure you've noticed this already, but you heal much faster than a normal human being, Jaeger."

"So, the only reason you want me to join the special operations team is because my cuts heal quickly?" Eren asked, still trying to see the reason behind this man's decision.

Pixis's grin grew wider. "It's not only because you heal quickly, it's the _reason_ for why you heal quickly that is important."

"I don't follow, sir." Eren himself did not know the reason for his accelerated healing, so how did the commander?

"Your blood is infected with the Titan organization virus, yet they live in symbiosis with your human blood cells. This Titan virus is what gives you the ability to heal quickly and I believe this is what your father hid from the organization. I think that he developed a cure for the virus and hid the formula for that cure within your body. The side effects of whatever drug he developed is what allows the virus to live within you and instead of killing you it protects you, healing you when you are wounded. He might have figured out Titan was going to kill him soon so he tried to ensure your safety as well as the cures, by giving you the drug. Hanji, our head researcher here in the organization, is a part of the Survey Corps and would like to analyze your blood to try and decipher the clues it may hold. In addition to that I think it's best to have you go on the next mission with the special operations team because you are an exceptional agent and you and your blood might be necessary for the mission to be a success. Do you understand now, agent Jaeger?" Pixis was serious once again; he eyed Eren with a sharp expression that reminded him why this unusual man was indeed the director of the Freedom organization.

Eren was trying to digest all the information that he had just received but with the look in Commander Pixis's eyes he knew how serious the situation must have been, so he knew he had no choice but to comply. "I understand sir, I will do my best to live up to your expectations and work alongside the special operations team to succeed for the sake of all of humanity."

"Now, there's the Eren Jaeger I expected to see during this discussion. Those eyes don't lie do they?" Pixis laughed lightly and smiled at the young man looking into his unyielding turquoise gaze. "Oh, and don't worry about your team Jaeger, I've assigned Jean Krischtein to temporarily join Mikasa and Armin so they can continue their operations as usual. Mikasa is far better than half the men in the organization so I'm sure she'll be able to make up for your absence. Jean is no light weight either, I'm sure he'll be able to hold his own. He was in the same graduating class as the three of you so they should all get along for the time being." The man said, once again sporting a façade of misplaced cheer.

Eren inwardly twitched at the mention of Jean, but kept his temper in check, "I trust your judgment, sir."

Pixis laughed heartily this time, "I'm glad, I'm glad. Now, pack your things Jaeger. You new room is going to be in the Survey Corps head quarters, after Hanji and Corporal Levi are done in the infirmary they will be escorting you there."

Eren almost choked, "The Corporal, sir?" He asked now becoming sincerely panicked.

"Oh, you know Corporal Levi? Well even better then." Pixis said as he wore that unnerving grin and leaned back in his brown arm chair. "You are dismissed now Jaeger, the Corporal and Hanji will explain the mission details to you upon arrival."

"Y-yes, sir." More than a little uneasy at the moment, Eren did his best not to stutter and gave a quick salute after he stood. He turned and quickly left the large office making sure not to slam the door as he exited. Looking down at his feet Eren became lost in thought. Even though he gave Commander Pixis his word, Eren wasn't sure how he was going to work with the Corporal, with his first impression he already knew that the shorter male probably didn't like him. With a sigh Eren raised his head and looked down the hall, Armin and Mikasa were waiting for him by the elevators. He pushed his worries about Corporal Levi, to the back of his mind and focused on his two best friends. _'How am I going to tell them?'_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Eren waited until the three of them were back in their small living quarters to tell his two best friends, and teammates, the news. The atmosphere was tense and the plain walls surrounding the trio only served to make Eren feel even more suffocated by the situation. He felt his frustration build with ever second that passed as his friends stared at him expectantly. It had been hard enough evading their questions in the elevator, now that he actually had to sit down and answer them he wished he could dodge the subject for the rest of the night.

"Eren, could you please tell us what's going on now?" Armin asked, exasperated. The blond was tired of waiting for his friend to speak.

The brunet stayed quiet for a while longer, getting his thoughts in order as best he could, before answering.

He gave both his friends an even look and spoke, "I'm being transferred to the special operations squad," when he saw both Armin and Mikasa's eyes open wide in a panic, he quickly added, "…temporarily," to his statement.

"But, why?" The blond asked.

Eren bit his lip, he wasn't sure if he was allowed to divulge the information he just received from Commander Pixis, to his friends.

"Did that old man tell you, you couldn't tell us? If he's breaking up our team we have the right to at least know the reason," Mikasa all but spat as she moved closer to Eren.

"I don't know if I can tell you guys anything but what I can say is that there is something I have that the Survey Corps needs and that's why I'm being temporarily assigned there. And also, their numbers have been hurt pretty badly and they need all the help they can get." Eren said, holding his ground against Mikasa's piercing gaze. He was frustrated that he was unable to tell his most trusted friends the whole truth but he could not turn his back on his mission.

Mikasa's frown deepened, "If they need so much help, why didn't they just reassign all of us to the Survey Corps, why only you?"

Eren now mirrored Mikasa's frown as he looked away from her and at the ground, "I can't say." He looked back up at her before he continued, "All I can ask is for you to trust me on this. I shouldn't be gone long and it's for the sake of humanity's future. That's what we're fighting for, right?" The ever present fire in Eren's turquoise eyes was unyielding as he spoke.

Mikasa parted her lips as if to protest, but with Eren sounding so resolute she knew nothing she could say would change his mind.

Following Mikasa's silence, Armin finally rejoined the conversation, "Eren, please promise me you'll be careful. If you can tell us something, anything, at any point while you're gone, it would really put me at ease if you'd tell me," his blue eyes shown with worry and an unspoken prayer for his best friend though his voice remained stable.

Eren gave Armin a curt nod, "I will."

The other boy smiled somewhat relieved, but Mikasa still wore a stiff frown of concern.

There was a brief silence–not nearly as tense as it had been earlier–before someone spoke.

"By the way Eren," Armin began, "When will you be leaving for the Survey Corps?" he asked.

Eren's eyed widened slightly at the question. He was surprised that he himself did not really know the answer to his friend's simple question. "…whenever the Corporal and some scientist come and get me I guess…" He answered, his voice wavering with uncharacteristic uncertainty.

"You mean the guy who punched you in the face?" Mikasa asked, standing from her seat across Eren.

"Mikasa please calm down, I'm sure the Corporal will conduct himself in a more professional way around Eren now that they'll be in the same division. Don't think of doing anything rash." Armin pleaded, putting a hand on Mikasa's arm, trying to calm her down.

The raven haired agent was about to give a feral reply when she was interrupted by a knock on their small metal door.

Armin looked between the door and Mikasa. After deciding that the girl in the red scarf was stable enough to leave alone, he got up from his own seat and went to answer the door.

Mikasa looked at the ground and pursed her lips together trying to compose herself completely, thinking of any harm coming to Eren just made her blood boil. Before she could fully calm her rage she heard Armin open the door fully for whoever was standing outside. Curious; she looks up.

"Which one of you brats is Eren Jaeger?" The short man in black pants and white button-up asked. "And please don't tell me it's the idiot I socked in the face earlier." He added as he eyed Eren from his spot at the doors entrance.

Mikasa all but growled upon the Corporals appearance.

A woman with thick glasses and messy brown hair followed the shorter man through the door. Her creepy grin widened when she too recognized Eren as one of the occupants in the room. "It's the little puppy!" Hanji yelled in excitement.

Eren grimaced; he had feared she was the scientist Pixis had mentioned. Even more dread befell the young brunet when he realized the intimidating ebony haired man now in his quarters was burning a hole through him with his intent stare. As Eren attempted to return the Corporal's glare, bright turquoise met icy grey and the teen knew he was going to lose.

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A/N: Yes! Chapter 2 is finally done! Hope you all like it and please tell me what you think; it'll help me decide the direction I want this story to go! As always R&R, thanks guys!


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